In LED arrays used for illumination and projection, system carriers made of metals, ceramics or semiconductors are frequently used to mount and/or dissipate heat from the LEDs. For the LEDs to produce directed radiation, each individual LED or set of more than one LED must be provided with a reflector, which is often made of plastic.
Such an arrangement known from the prior art is illustrated by way of example in FIG. 1. The radiation-emitting component depicted therein comprises exemplarily two LED chips 9, disposed in mutually spaced relation on a system carrier 1. As noted in the above introduction, this carrier is usually made of a metal, a ceramic or a semiconductor. To direct the radiation given off by the LED chips 9, a reflector arrangement 2 is provided, mounted directly on the system carrier 1. The connection can be made by means of an adhesive, for example. Reflector arrangement 2 comprises two reflectors 3, one LED chip 9 being deposited in each reflector 3. Reflector arrangement 2 has roughly the same expanse as system carrier 1, resulting in the creation of an extensive connection between these two elements.
Since the reflector arrangement, unlike the system carrier, is usually made of a plastic, which can be formed into the desired shape by injection molding, there is an extensive connection between two materials that have sharply differing thermal expansion coefficients. In the temperature range that occurs when the radiation-emitting component is in operation, owing to the different expansions of the system carrier 1 and the reflector arrangement 2 mechanical stress can develop, particularly in the lateral direction, and destroy the compound structure or its joining technique.
To prevent damage to the radiation-emitting component, in the prior art, intentional breakpoints are provided in the reflector arrangement. Arrangements of this kind are also known in which the reflector arrangement is composed of individual reflectors, each of which is mounted at a designated location on the system carrier. A disadvantage in both of these approaches is the technical expenditure involved in making the radiation-emitting component and its housing.